I just saw Top Gun again a few weeks ago, and it is such a hilarious movie. Of course I just could´t get over the tension between Maverick and Iceman, so there you go ;) My first ever Top Gun fic. I have a bunch of other stuff to complete as well, but inspiration hit me so yeah, hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: I don´t own any of the characters, plot or anything else in Top Gun, just loved the movie :D

The one that got away

Prologue

The Persian gulf 1994

In a dogfight everything moves fast. A churning adrenaline rushed chaos that leaves no room for hesitation. Flashes of colour, stressed out shouting over the radio, the roaring of jet engines. The smell of burning debris when a missile found its mark and an F-14 tomcat exploded in a burst of flames and thick black smoke.

Tom Kazansky could feel his heart thundering in his chest like a machinegun firing an endless supply of rounds. His hands were sweating, blood rushing in his ears.

"He´s above us! He is above us!"

"Ice, WATCH OUT!"

His RIO was in hysterics, and with good reason. They were alone, their wingman having been blasted out of the sky by a missile about 5 seconds earlier. He yanked the jet into a hard right, barely avoiding a missile lock only to swerve back again to avoid another incoming Mig. Backup was on its way, but he had no idea when they would arrive.

With a sense of finality he forced himself to calm down, control his breathing. Inhale deeply, exhale, inhale…force the jet into another crazy spin as the Mig switched to guns, missing by less than an inch…..exhale.

His call sign was iceman for fucks sake, he could do this.

There had been six of them to begin with, Ice had gotten two before his wingman panicked, lost his cool in a situation which was already out of control, and was shot down. What was supposed to be an uneventful morning patrol had turned into an absolute nightmare. The enemy was getting more aggressive, pushing back after last weeks successful airstrike.

Another round of gunfire blasted past the cockpit, slamming into the hull on the left side this time. An alarm went off on the control panel. He ignored it, increased speed and tricked the attacker by suddenly breaking hard and abruptly changing direction. Everything was a blur of twists, spins and crazy moves, whatever was necessary to keep them from getting a missile lock on him.

Had it not been for the lack of breathing room he would have laughed. Ice had learned the hard way that not every situation could be solved by a text-book move. In a dogfight stuff happened, and sometimes instinct was the only thing you had left to go on. Not that he would ever admit this out loud. Either way his flying would never be as reckless as that of a certain person.

Strange noises were coming from the engine, a hollow vibration that resonated through the entire hull of the jet. He was starting to loose speed.

Not good.

That last round must have hit something he thought absently, shutting down the left engine. The worrying vibrating sound disappeared, but he was now very vulnerable. The Mig´s were already smaller and more agile than his F-14. With one engine…the odds had not been in their favour to begin with, he´d rather not think about what they were now.

"Shit!" His RIO cursed over the radio, voice laced with a combination of panic and incredulity.

"We are….we are gonna die Ice, are we not? We are…."

"Shut up!" Ice hissed through clenched teeth, yanking the F-14 left and right in a strange zigzagging pattern and miraculously avoiding another round of gunfire.

He was really flying like a lunatic now he reflected, adrenaline spiking as he was barely able to pull the jet out of another spin, more alarms blinking on the control panel. If he kept this up chances were they would be killed by his own crazy flying rather than a missile. Then again his current options were pretty limited.

Somewhere at the back of his mind he registered that backup had finally arrived. He should have been relieved, but all he felt was an odd sense of anxious indifference. His heart still pounding in his chest, thundering in his ears.

Then the other engine gave out, dark grey smoke flaring out behind them. A terrible screeching sound resonated through the cockpit, and then everything became eerie silent as the F-14s nose tipped downward.

The thought came unbidden

Is this how I die?